Taiwan reports its first H5N6 avian flu outbreak

Taiwan ducks
Taiwan ducks

MiNe / Flickr cc

Taiwan over the weekend reported its first highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza detection, signaling further spread of the virus into Asia, as European countries saw no let-up in H5N8 activity in wild birds and poultry.

Elsewhere, Japan reported a new H5 outbreak in Saga prefecture, the sixth to be affected in recent months.

Taiwan confirms H5N6, plus more H5N2

Animal health officials in Taiwan today said tests on a dead goose found near Yuli township in Hualien County on the east side of the island were positive for H5N6, according to a government statement translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog. Authorities will be stepping up monitoring of migratory birds and surveillance at local poultry farms.

A report today on the outbreak from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said the young goose was found on Feb 2 on a country road by members of the Wild Bird Society, adding that test on samples from the bird came back positive for H5N6 yesterday. Initial genetic tests suggest that the virus is nearly identical to H5N6 that has sparked recent outbreaks in Japan and South Korea, two countries that reported their first detections in November 2016.

H5N6 had earlier been reported in Chinese poultry flocks, and since 2014 the virus has been linked to 17 infections in humans, all of them in China.

In other Taiwan developments, officials reported seven more highly pathogenic H5N2 outbreaks to the OIE, all affecting poultry farms, six in Yunlin County on the west side of the island and one in Yilan County in the northeast. Taiwan has reported scores of H5N2 outbreaks since early 2015.

The latest outbreaks began from Jan 6 to Jan 22, striking native chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Among all the events, the virus killed 28,676 of 78,815 birds, and the remaining ones were culled to curb the spread of the disease.

Five European nations report more H5N8

According to the latest OIE reports, five European countries reported more H5N8 outbreaks, much of them in wild birds but also in poultry and at a zoo:

  • Germany reported 31 new outbreaks, 19 in wild birds, 7 on poultry farms, 3 in backyard poultry, and 2 at zoos. The outbreaks affected nine different states from throughout the country and had start dates ranging from Jan 20 to Feb 3, killing 40 wild birds and 2,700 of 188,843 poultry.

  • France reported 24 more poultry outbreaks, 22 at farms and 2 in backyard birds. The events began from Jan 13 to Jan 30, affecting mostly duck farms in five departments concentrated in the southwest of the country. Taken together, there were 103,231 susceptible birds and so far 90,481 have been slaughtered. In a separate report officials reported five more H5N8 outbreaks involving wild birds.

  • In other OIE notifications, French officials reported more outbreaks involving low-pathogenic strains that have been circulating in poultry there: one more involving H5N3 and on more linked to H5N1.

  • Italy reported one more outbreak, this time affecting a turkey farm in Emilia-Romagna region in the north. The outbreak started on Feb 1, and, of 22,800 birds, the virus sickened 4,000 and killed 400.

  • Slovakia reported 3 more outbreaks in poultry and 21 more outbreaks in wild birds. The poultry outbreaks all occurred in backyard birds in Trencin, Trnava, and Zilina principalities, with start dates ranging from Jan 24 to Jan 30. Between the three locations, the virus killed 31 of 129 birds, which included hens, Guinea fowl, geese, ducks, and pigeons. The events involving wild birds began between Jan 18 and Feb 1, affecting six different principalities in the western half of the country and killing 100 birds, mostly mute swans.

  • United Kingdom officials reported three more outbreaks in wild birds from nature parks, two in England (Lancashire and Yorkshire) and one in Northern Ireland (Londonderry). The three birds were found dead between Jan 24 and Feb 2 and included a buzzard, a graylag goose, and a swan.

Japan notes H5 in Saga prefecture

Meanwhile, in Japan local officials culled 69,000 chickens at a farm in the Saga prefecture town of Kohoku after deaths were reported and initial tests were positive for a highly pathogenic H5 strain, Kyodo News reported yesterday.

Saga prefecture is in the country's southwest. Japan reported recent H5N6 outbreaks in five other prefectures.

See also:

Feb 6 AFD post

Feb 6 OIE report on H5N6 in Taiwan

Feb 6 OIE report on H5N2 in Taiwan

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N8 in Germany

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N8 in France (poultry)

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N8 in France (wild birds)

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N3 in France

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N1 in France

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N8 in Italy

Feb 5 OIE report on H5N8 in Slovakia (backyard birds)

Feb 5 OIE report on H5N8 Slovakia (wild birds)

Feb 3 OIE report on H5N8 in the United Kingdom

Feb 5 Kyodo News story

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